Pseudo: Sim100 - - 2008-07-10 :: Tha Chang Wang Luang - Tha Chang Wang Luang or Tha Phra, during the reign of King Rama I of the Rattanakosin period, was the main city gate and it was the area that elephants (Chang) were brought from the Royal Palace (Wang Luang) to take baths. Therefore, it was known as Tha Chang Wang Luang (pier for elephants from the Royal Palace). Later in 1808, King Rama I had invited a Buddha image named Phra Sri Sakkaya Muni from Sukhothai province to be enshrined in the royal Wihan (hall of worship) of wat Suthat Thepwararam, the Buddha image was putted down on the raft transported to Bangkok by water way, when the Buddha image was pulled from the pier, but it could not pass through the gate. Therefore the main gate and some part of the city wall were demolished and a new gate was built again and then it was named Pratu Tha Phra (pier's gate for Buddha image). Tha Phra was then an official name, but people prererably called Tha Chang because it was still a pier used for elephant's bathing. At present, it as widely known as Tha Chang Wang Luang, and it is belongings to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The private sector is allowed to rent and carry out operations within this area to be a ferry for crossing the river or going to another places on the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
